Las Vegas City Council votes to limit short-term rentals
- Dec 11, 2018 | Jennifer Sokolowsky
The Las Vegas City Council has voted 4-3 to approve new rules for short-term rentals, including banning new permits for those that are not occupied by their owners. Currently, only about 15 percent of short-term rentals in the city are owner-occupied.
Under the new rules, new short-term rental permits will only be issued for properties where the owner is present during rental periods. Going forward, short-term rentals cannot have more than three bedrooms and they must be at least 660 feet from the nearest other short-term living unit.
The bill also eliminated the option of special-use permits that would offer exemptions from the rules. The measure applies to new applications and doesn’t affect existing rentals or those currently going through the application process.
Airbnb opposed the new ordinance.
“While cities around the world are embracing the economic benefits of short-term rentals, the city council has doubled-down on onerous regulations, and added further restrictions,” a spokeswoman for Airbnb said.
“This vote is a disappointing blow to Las Vegas hosts who rely on short-term rentals to support their families and will hurt the local economy.”
Short-term rental operators in Las Vegas must obtain a business license and a short-term rental permit and carry liability insurance of $500,000. Hosts who are part of a homeowners association must also have written permission to have a short-term rental in the neighborhood.
Las Vegas hosts are also required to collect city and Cook County lodging taxes from their guests. While Airbnb collects lodging taxes on behalf of its hosts in some locations in Nevada, it doesn’t collect them for Las Vegas hosts, and neither does HomeAway or VRBO.
That means Las Vegas short-term rental hosts are responsible for registering with tax authorities, collecting taxes from guests, and remitting them to the city and county.
MyLodgeTax can help Las Vegas short-term hosts automate lodging tax to streamline and simplify their lodging tax compliance. For more information on short-term rental taxes, see our Nevada Vacation Rental Tax Guide.
